Opta Group Acquires Anker Industries

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Dec 21, 2023, 08:00 ET

Additions expand Opta's premium product offerings and clean steel initiatives.

AMHERST, N.Y., Dec. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Opta Group, a portfolio company of Speyside Equity Advisers ("Speyside"), is excited to announce its acquisition of Anker Industries LLC ("Anker") effective December 20, 2023.

Anker supplies the steel and foundry industries with metallurgical additives such as deoxidizer briquettes, slag conditioners, insulators, tundish fluxes, and high-quality petroleum coke (petcoke). By removing oxygen, inclusions, and other impurities, Anker's customized solutions allow customers to produce clean, high-quality steel. The company is also an integrated aluminum recycler that takes measures to alleviate waste and maintain a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

Located twelve miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, Anker's plant is ideally situated to serve Opta's clients.

"Anker's unique manufacturing process expands the portfolio of products and services we can offer," says John Dietrich, CEO of Opta Group. "That allows us to strengthen relationships with our customers as we continue finding new ways to assist with their production and provide optimal performance."

"I love that the Opta team gets up every morning and thinks about how to help its customers produce more efficiently," adds Eric Wiklendt, Opta's board chair. "Acquiring Anker shows that Opta's recent recapitalization allows the company to become a premier specialty chemicals platform servicing the metallurgical, glass, and concrete end markets."

About Opta Group

Opta Group is the leading supplier of performance materials and solutions in the molten metal, glass, and specialty chemical industries. The Company serves the worldwide steelmaking, metal refining, concrete and cement, and pulp and paper industries. For more information, please visit optagroupllc.com.

About Speyside Equity Advisers

Speyside is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market buyout transactions in the manufacturing and value-added distribution sectors. Targeted portfolio companies often possess balance sheet, legal, environmental, labor, or transactional complexity. Speyside Equity focuses on creative transaction structures and is comfortable investing in carve-outs of large multinational companies, industry consolidations, family-owned businesses, bankruptcies and workouts, and other special situations. Speyside takes an operational approach to creating value in those circumstances. Speyside has completed 30 investments. For more information, please visit speysideequityllc.com.

SOURCE Opta Group LLC